Anyone who has ever belonged to a gym or yoga studio knows that New Year’s Resolutions drive abundant interest in getting fit — and that the lines to the treadmill will be pretty non-existent by January 20th, latest. What’s less obvious than this seasonal peak in health and fitness transformation is that there’s probably also a seasonal trough, and it’s starting right about now.

It probably actually started a few weeks ago. Right around the time the Halloween candy goes on sale and the time changes, many fitness industry businesses see a slowdown in user engagement.  For digital health technologies, that might look like fewer people wearing their devices or keeping track of their fitness activities, and in health clubs, there’s just a dip in workouts – fewer people showing up, and even the avid folks showing up less often.

I call this seasonal trough in health and fitness activity HiberNation.

See, hibernation causes animals to sleep in a state of suspended animation, increased body fat and lowered bodily activity through the cold season. The Transformational Consumer© Trend of human HiberNation reflects a confluence of biological urges and cultural trends that affect nearly all of us, especially in the US:

• We hunker down in the dark: Our biology is inclined to hunker down and stay indoors when it’s colder and darker. This makes it more difficult to get and stay motivated to work out early and even more difficult to workout after the workday. (Inclement weather in extremely cold climates also diminishes the probability Transformational Consumers will go for a run, do a boot camp in the park, even walk their dogs.) Biologically, we tend to want to be still and warm later in the mornings and earlier in the evenings this time of year, literally hibernating for more hours than we would sleep in the summer.
• We put on our other “winter layers”: We also tend to crave foods that are in season, including squashes and other starchy carbs that help us get that winter coat of fat our bodies might feel that we need.
• Sweaters are forgiving, but grandma won’t be if we don’t try her pie: Culturally, we tend to wear more clothing and bulkier clothing this time of year, and to decide that we’re okay with gaining a few in order to indulging in the foods that signify comfort, family and holidays. In fact, we’ve observed that even diehard QS (quantified self) buffs are prone to suspend the practice of tracking their food intake and exercise activities during this season of indulgence. In a paradoxical way, it’s as though they are very intentionally suspending their normal practice of extreme consciousness about just what is going in their mouths. They know they’re “cheating” – they’d just rather not know the gory details.

Business + Marketing Takeaways from the Transformational Consumer© Trend of HiberNation

• Don’t be surprised or terribly worried if you see a downtick in sales, attendance or activity.
• Do publish content that helps your audience have the a-ha moment that this is what’s going on with their bodies and minds right now (trust me – they’re wondering what on earth is happening and why it’s so hard to stay on track).
• Do give them smart strategies for staying motivated and healthy during this season.
• Do surface surprising or underutilized ways they can stay fit given all the individual biological and cultural issues they are facing, from investing in a light therapy box (this is my personal go-to) to swinging kettlebells at home instead of running.
• Don’t neglect to help your customers or users get ready – and revved up – for New Year’s and positioned to take advantage of that milestone for behavior change.
• Do understand how geographic differences impact your customers’ HiberNation tendencies – or lack thereof. In the US, we start thinking “holidays” as soon as Halloween happens, and tend to stay in the holiday-induced HiberNation state of mind through New Year’s Eve.  Because other countries don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in November, their holiday and thus, HiberNation, seasons tend to be much shorter – maybe only a week or so at the end of December.  Also, in the Southern hemisphere, our HiberNation season is their onramp to Summer, so it tends to be a non-issue, even through the Christmas celebration time-frame.